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October 16, 2008

Bankers, Brokers and Bandits: Trader By Day, Drummer By Night

Bankers, Brokers And Bandits: Trader By Day, Drummer By Night

Chris Stewart is a stock trader in Chicago who thrives on the intensity of ups and downs in the market. Lately, he's been getting all the intensity he can handle. But Chris has his own way of handling the pressure: he wrangles his way onto the stage with rock bands to play percussion. Now he's a semi-regular performer with the Dave Mason band and has met many of his boyhood idols.

Tough Job - Drumming Up Real Estate

The foreclosure rate in Florida is three times the national average. But Ft. Lauderdale realtor and developer Zach Finn is ignoring the numbers. He has opened a new office and is even throwing upscale cocktail parties to lure buyers. He talks to Dick about how parties and international investors are keeping his business afloat.

The recession has not been kind to American children. Recent census figures say that one of every seven Americans is living in poverty, and that children are feeling the worst of that, particularly African American and other minority kids living in cities. Ten-year-old Diane Burley has been living in a hotel room for the past four months. It’s a single room and she’s there with her mother Melissa and her siblings Elijah, Natasha, Jaylin and Davion. Melissa says she can get the family back on their feet. All she needs is a job. Also: a listener's scary story of finding a man living in her attic.

Pilot Andy Loeffler has been a pilot for a major airline for almost 20 years despite post 9/11 pay cuts, the loss of his pension, and the bankruptcy of his airline. Andy realizes it's not stable, so while keeping his full-time job, he went back to law school.

Claudia Becque was a good marathon runner who hadn't quite made it to highest level of competition. Then Claudia got a pink slip and she decided to make the best of unemployment, eventually qualifying for the U.S. Olympic trials. Also on the show: a Secret Service agent on protecting a presidential family.

When the last restaurant Daniel Giddens worked for closed, he got tired of looking for another job. He took unemployment and posted his resume on Monster.com. Before long, companies offering him bookkeeping work at home got in touch, and then some started sending checks. Dan knew it looked a little shady, but he was curious to see what would happen, so he took one of the checks to the bank and cashed it. Also on the show: a year without plastic.

On Friday, Congress gave final approval to legislation that will overhaul the federal student loan program. That's welcome news to many. Jason graduated from college in 2004 and now works for a large financial institution. He says he was sold on the dream that going to college would give him a middle class lifestyle. Instead, he's living with his mother and working to pay off $30,000 in debt. Also in this epsiode: another installment of Ahmed's Diary. And, the story of a 105-year-old cottonwood tree in Chicago.

Former White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater says debt talks are par for the course in the past decades. He served under Presidents Ronald Regan and George H. W. Bush. He says budget talks used to be held in secret, but a lot of the arguments are the same as they ever were. Politicians tend to go into a bubble and, he says, forget common sense. The American people can tell the difference.